VW Polo - Maintenance and Service cost and dos/don'ts

This is a discussion on VW Polo - Maintenance and Service cost and dos/don'ts within Technical Stuff, part of the Under the Hood category; Originally Posted by Vik0728
Guys, I got a concern and would really appreciate any expert advice/opinion:
Last weekend had taken ...

Guys, I got a concern and would really appreciate any expert advice/opinion:

Last weekend had taken my GT out to my in-laws farm and on the return leg, the car was completed loaded (boot) with 4 adults on board. One of the railway crossing had a very weird speed breaker, which was wide and tall.
I slowed down to a crawl but soon as the front wheels had crossed, the centre sank and scraped the hump quite loud (bad) !!

- I don't see any damage that is alarming, or at least nothing that I could make out. Anything in particular that I must be looking at?

- This is the first time that this had happened? Anybody else have had this experience and any tips to share on the damage analysis?

- I don't have any underbody coating or anything of that sorts. Would that help with such mishaps?

The GT has a plastic sheet that covers the underbody on both sides after the front mud flap. Only the front of these sheets extend below the rocker panel. Also the folding of the rocker panel where the jacks are usually placed. These would be the usual areas that would be hit. Everything else has been placed high up in the Polo.

Another usual victim and one that regularly bears the brunt in my car are the front mudflaps. Usually these get hit when the front wheel has cleared some obstacle and is travelling down. They do make a nasty sound, however they are one of the best engineered pieces in the Polo, flexing quite a bit but not damaging any other components or themselves in the process. At-most you might find some scratches on the flap. In my Swift hitting the mudflaps front or rear either damaged the flaps or misaligned the bumpers.

Between as opposed to other manufacturers VW specified the minimum GC when loaded. So the 165mm GC is when loaded and on light load should actually be a few mm higher.

Between as opposed to other manufacturers VW specified the minimum GC when loaded. So the 165mm GC is when loaded and on light load should actually be a few mm higher.

Perfect Shibu and thank you for sharing that info

To be honest, I have never scraped the underbody of my GT and this was the very first time I did. Probably, the car was never loaded the way it was and that could possibly be the reason as well.

In short, I have always be doubly careful while negotiating craters and peaks bestowed by authorities on our roads, and after this incident I am going to get almost obsessed with crawling around such road components.

Really disappointed and disheartened with the service given for my 2014 vw polo 1.5 from the cotton green service centre. I had sent her in for her regular 3rd service around april. Noticed that the coolant was extremely low so told them to check that. Got the car back, they said there was a leak in the coolant pipes and that the coolant container had to be changed as well. Charged my around 8k for this.

To my utter dismay, the car came back with a crack on the headlight switch (the one next to the ignition). Followed up with them they said to send the car back and they would look into it. In the mean time realised that the coolant had dropped again after a little bit of running. So told them to fix that problem as well.

I should also mention that ever since the coolant problem, my mileage has dropped drastically. I used to get around 600 kms in the city on a full tank, now it was down to 450.

They said there was a problem with the pipes so they changed the entire coolant system and gave the car back. They did not fix my headlight switch and infact denied that it happened at their workshop. I had also plastidipped my wheels and specifically mentioned that the wheels were not to be touched during the service.

So when they sent the car back, the switch was still cracked, they had peeled off the plastidip from sections on all four wheels. They claimed to have changed the entire coolant system however.

A couple of weeks pass and im still getting mileage between 8 - 12 kmpl in my diesel car. The coolant dropped from half full to a quarter in a couple of weeks. Sent the car back, this time they kept it for 2 days. After 'observation', their conclusion is that the mileage is fine and the coolant is also fine.

So now what do i do. My mileage has dropped horribly, the best way to describe it is that it increases extremely slowly compared to before. Even with a light right foot on the freeway i'm not able to get above 15 kmpl. They have topped up the coolant as well, but since my mileage is still bad, i'm assuming once i check under the hood in a couple of weeks again, i'm going to be faced with the same problem. Worst case is they refuse to acknowledge a problem in the first place.

I read online that coolant/coolant sensor issues could be cause for low fuel economy as a richer mixture of fuel is pumped into the engine. Any experts here? Any email ID's of VW people who can actually help? Should I play the waiting game and see if the same problem crops up again. If yes, then what? And what do I do about the mileage. Im definitely not sending my car back to the cotton green centre again.

Really disappointed and disheartened with the service given for my 2014 vw polo 1.5 from the cotton green service centre. I had sent her in for her regular 3rd service around april. Noticed that the coolant was extremely low so told them to check that. Got the car back, they said there was a leak in the coolant pipes and that the coolant container had to be changed as well. Charged my around 8k for this.

To my utter dismay, the car came back with a crack on the headlight switch (the one next to the ignition). Followed up with them they said to send the car back and they would look into it. In the mean time realised that the coolant had dropped again after a little bit of running. So told them to fix that problem as well.

I should also mention that ever since the coolant problem, my mileage has dropped drastically. I used to get around 600 kms in the city on a full tank, now it was down to 450.

They said there was a problem with the pipes so they changed the entire coolant system and gave the car back. They did not fix my headlight switch and infact denied that it happened at their workshop. I had also plastidipped my wheels and specifically mentioned that the wheels were not to be touched during the service.

So when they sent the car back, the switch was still cracked, they had peeled off the plastidip from sections on all four wheels. They claimed to have changed the entire coolant system however.

A couple of weeks pass and im still getting mileage between 8 - 12 kmpl in my diesel car. The coolant dropped from half full to a quarter in a couple of weeks. Sent the car back, this time they kept it for 2 days. After 'observation', their conclusion is that the mileage is fine and the coolant is also fine.

So now what do i do. My mileage has dropped horribly, the best way to describe it is that it increases extremely slowly compared to before. Even with a light right foot on the freeway i'm not able to get above 15 kmpl. They have topped up the coolant as well, but since my mileage is still bad, i'm assuming once i check under the hood in a couple of weeks again, i'm going to be faced with the same problem. Worst case is they refuse to acknowledge a problem in the first place.

I read online that coolant/coolant sensor issues could be cause for low fuel economy as a richer mixture of fuel is pumped into the engine. Any experts here? Any email ID's of VW people who can actually help? Should I play the waiting game and see if the same problem crops up again. If yes, then what? And what do I do about the mileage. Im definitely not sending my car back to the cotton green centre again.

Apologies for the long rant, but feels good to get it off the chest.

I am from the camp that believes that I need to be present next to my car whenever something is being done to it.
In today's day and age it is just too risky to let your vehicle get serviced without one's physical presence. Personally, I think they just charged you without actually changing the parts.
Please shift to another competent service centre and make sure someone is next to the car when the work is being carried out.

Nope. They change the break pads only if they are worn out. The break pads in my car are in a good condition.

Check the attached screenshot. For brake pads, it is I/R which means inspect and rectify. Therefore they replace the break pads only if required. I have taken the screenshot from VW Service App.

Might be a good idea to get the pads checked by a local FNG and verify them yourself every 5K kms from now since the next service is at 45K. When I checked out my pads, I found that at 40K they were almost done and may not have lasted till the 45K service without scoring the disc.

Might be a good idea to get the pads checked by a local FNG and verify them yourself every 5K kms from now since the next service is at 45K. When I checked out my pads, I found that at 40K they were almost done and may not have lasted till the 45K service without scoring the disc.

30K is too early for replacing the pads for a decent driver though.

Drive on,
Shibu.

I agree with you. I feel 15000 kms or one year is too long a service interval. So I get my car inspected after 6 months from FNG. Just to check the brakes and oil level.

Okay, so today while driving back home in my Polo (2011 TDI), the gear shifter got stuck in 1st gear and refused to move to N or any other gear. I pulled to the side and tried to move it around. I then realized that I was only able to engage Gears - R-1-3-5 (top row gears) and not 2-4. Neutral had shifted to the row where gears 2 & 4 should be. I somehow managed to drive home using 1-3-5 gears and would be traveling for 2 weeks and hence I plan to get this addressed when I return.

Anyone else have faced an issue like this? I am assuming this is a case of some sort of jam in the linkage, but could it be the Clutch or the Gearbox? I am on the verge of selling my Polo and upgrading to a Vento so a big expense at this stage would be really hard to absorb.

Really disappointed and disheartened with the service given for my 2014 vw polo 1.5 from the cotton green service centre. I had sent her in for her regular 3rd service around april. Noticed that the coolant was extremely low so told them to check that. Got the car back, they said there was a leak in the coolant pipes and that the coolant container had to be changed as well. Charged my around 8k for this.

To my utter dismay, the car came back with a crack on the headlight switch (the one next to ....

A quick suggestion- since you stay in Mumbai, how about you try BU Bhandari in Pune? They give appointments on weekends too, and they're a lovely bunch of people and have an extremely structured way of operating. You'll find scores of praises for them on TBHP, and I myself have had wonderful experienced with them.

You'll have to weigh the pros and cons of travelling down vis a vis escalations and follow ups, but if you don't have a counterpart in Mumbai, do see if you can manage this.

Okay, so today while driving back home in my Polo (2011 TDI), the gear shifter got stuck in 1st gear and refused to move to N or any other gear. I pulled to the side and tried to move it around. I then realized that I was only able to engage Gears - R-1-3-5 (top row gears) and not 2-4. Neutral had shifted to the row where gears 2 & 4 should be.

Gearbox cable has probably snapped. The cost of replacement is around 8k + labour.

A friend has broken the key to his Polo. The service centre has said it will take a month to get the replacement key made. Is this the standard amount of time for key replacement? What will the cost be?

Also, what is the cost of mirror motor replacement for the Polo? The electrically foldable ones, as on the current model.

A quick suggestion- since you stay in Mumbai, how about you try BU Bhandari in Pune? They give appointments on weekends too, and they're a lovely bunch of people and have an extremely structured way of operating. You'll find scores of praises for them on TBHP, and I myself have had wonderful experienced with them.

You'll have to weigh the pros and cons of travelling down vis a vis escalations and follow ups, but if you don't have a counterpart in Mumbai, do see if you can manage this.

Cheers

Thanks bud, will keep this as my last option. Ill try the other service centres closer to home first.

A friend has broken the key to his Polo. The service centre has said it will take a month to get the replacement key made. Is this the standard amount of time for key replacement? What will the cost be? ...

Substantial. Possibly even ridiculous. I'm afraid that replacing these custom-coded remote keys is expensive, probably for most cars worldwide.